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153 Tips to Raise More Money By Mail

Direct mail is still the major source of contributions to nonprofits. It’s the most important fundraising and communications tool you have.

I’ve updated my list of top Best Practice Tips for Your Mailing Campaign with the latest research and recommendations from my favorite mail gurus.

Warning: this is a very long post! If you don’t want to keep scrolling, you can download the complete pdf by filing out this form here.

This list will give you tips for:

* Drawing donors in to the letter.
* Upgrading your donors’ gifts.
* Creating a dynamite case.
* Writing a letter your donors will actually read.
* Creating a killer ask in the letter.
* Asking lapsed donors to renew their gift.
* Ending the letter with a bang.
* Raising more from your top donors.
* Creating a plan and scheduling your mailings.
* Communicating when you are not asking.
* Following up your appeals so donors say yes.
* Welcoming new donors.
* Signing the letter correctly.
* Including prospects who may not be on your radar screen.
* Linking to and integrating with your web site.
* Creating a mailing packet that brings results.
* Using a reply card that sells.
* Setting up the right kind of infrastructure.
* Using the right envelope as a fundraising tool.

THE BIG PICTURE

Use the same appeal message and call to action in your mail solicitations, on your web site, and in your email communications – and reinforce your message over and over.

Focus more on your donor and what he or she wants to accomplish than on your organization.

The appeal letter can have only one objective: a clear ask for support. It is not a newsletter, an end-of-year report or item mixed in with other communications.

Your top priority is always to renew your past donors. They are your customer base – your “money in the bank.” Don’t let them slip away.

Don’t solicit any donors until you have shown them what results you have accomplished with their first gift. Donors say they will give liberally but only after they know what their first gift accomplished.

Be sure to communicate with your donors frequently in between appeals so they are up to date and feel connected to your organization. This communication determines whether your donor is open to give again. It’s more important than you realize.

Never, never, never let a committee approve or edit your letter. If you let well-meaning but unknowledgeable people help write your appeal, they will ruin it. Guaranteed!

Update your web site. Many donors who receive a letter will go to your website to make their gift. Be ready to welcome them there with an easy to follow online donation process.

Segment your list. Break up your list into smaller groups that have some sort of affinity. You’ll raise much more money by personalizing your appeals.

THE LETTER: DRAW YOUR DONORS IN

Use the word “you” immediately in the first sentence of your appeal.

Your goal in the first part of the letter is to get your reader’s attention. (Tom Ahern)

Make your first two sentences so compelling that your donor will want to keep reading. (You can easily lose them in the very beginning.)

Immediately thank donors for their past support in the first or second lines. I like to open every letter with “thank you” to remind the donor of their partnership for the cause.

Tell a story. Narrative is far more powerful than a set of statistics and organizational accomplishments.

Be careful about photography and fancy layout in your letter or accompanying materials. Too much design makes it much less personal.

Always use photos of people, not buildings. It’s what happens inside the buildings that counts.

Track your LYBUNTS (people who gave Last Year But Unfortunately Not This) carefully and send them repeated (cheerful and enthusiastic) appeals to be sure they renew.Once a donor has given for two straight years, they are likely to remain a donor for the long run.

Develop a series of appeals to SYBUNTS. (People who gave Some Year But Unfortunately Not This year). “We’ve missed you!”

The letters you send to your LYBUNTS and SYBUNTS should remind them of their past support and remind them how much they have helped create your success.

COMMUNICATE WHEN YOU ARE NOT ASKING

Communication is what happens in between solicitations. It determines whether your next solicitation is successful – whether your donor welcomes it or throws it away.

Find ways to communicate cheerfully with your donor base outside of the newsletter and mailing solicitations.

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Thank you for your witty insights, encouraging prods, and helpful tips! They always make me smile and want to dig back into my prospect pool with new vigor!— Lane Cross, Chi Omega Foundation

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Gail Perry inspires nonprofits around the world with cutting-edge fundraising strategies and new tools to make fundraising more successful and more fun. Find smart strategies to help you raise tons of money at Fired-Up Fundraising.com.

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Gail Perry, MBA, CFRE

Gail Perry is a leader in a new breed of fundraisers. She is the best-selling author of Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action (Wiley). Her Fired-Up Fundraising approach, developed over the past 22 years as a non-profit philanthropy expert, has helped organizations raise hundreds of millions in gifts and support.